A local man has persuaded 13 ‘Average Joes’ to strip off for a calendar celebrating ‘dad bods’, all to raise money for a good cause.
A group of men including builders, factory workers and property managers have whipped their kit off for the calendar, the profits of which will go to men’s mental health charity Andy’s Mans Club.
They were all brought together by Newton Heath-born Paul J Goddard after he paid a visit to one of the charity’s talking groups.
38-year-old Paul said that he ‘just wants to help’, while raising awareness for men’s mental health – something he has struggled with in his own life.
He said: “I’ve had anxiety, panic attacks, depression. I had a hard upbringing and a lot of trauma in life that was out of my control.
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A sneak peak of the January page of the God Bod 2022 calendar / Credit: God Bods MCR
“I suffered my first panic attack when I was about 16, and then they came so often. I pretty much had a mental breakdown at just 16 years old.
“I was ringing an ambulance every day because I didn’t know what was happening to me, no one could explain it, I was a lost cause.
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“If I can prevent that from happening to other people, then that’s what I want to do.”
The calendar itself has been shot and designed by Paul himself, using a basement bar in the Northern Quarter as a backdrop.
He found his gang of nude dudes by putting a call out on social media, but says that persuading them to strip off was a ‘b*llache’.
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“It’s not easy to get Average Joes to take their kit off!” he said.
“Some were braver than others but it ended up being a really good couple of days on the shoot.
“I’m a hella confident person, I’ve done extras work, been on stage, performed poetry. I just want people to feel the same way.
“The overall outcome I’m really pleased with. It’s quite a brave thing to do, to take your kit off, and none of us are exactly Instagram models.”
But he hopes that the calendar will champion male bodies of all shapes, sizes and ages.
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Each month has been themed around mental health to remind men the check in with themselves, and includes regular links back to Andy’s Mans Club.
Of the charity, Paul said: “Everyone’s so great there, and there are men using the centres who have been through way worse than what I went through.
“My heart went out to them. I just want to help.”
The calendars will cost £15 each, sold through the God Bod social media channels, with all profits going to Andy’s Mans Club.
Only limited numbers are available, but Paul hopes he can raise thousands this year and expand to other cities in the near future.
Feature
We’ve found some of the best Chinese food in town – being served out of a snooker hall
Danny Jones
Yes, you heard us right: we’ve stumbled across one of our favourite new places for Chinese food just on the outskirts of Manchester city centre – it just so happens to be served out of a best-in-class snooker hall.
And that really is just the tip of the iceberg here.
Some of you may have heard about and/or seen it already, but we’ll admit we were a little late to the party when it comes to Club 200, a.k.a. the pool, snooker, darts, mahjong club and more, which has so many different things rolled into that it’s really more a Russian doll than a Chinese restaurant or sports venue.
The hook speaks for itself: a place where people spend just as much time practising with chopsticks as they do their cues, as it really isn’t a gimmick, as some pessimistic folk would have you think – the food is banging and so are the vibes in general.
Not only is this quite literally the best snooker club in Manchester – complete with everything from classic American billiards and Chinese 8-ball to king-size snooker tables that the Ronnie O’Sullivan has played and won on, to a special AI system you won’t find anywhere else – it is SO much more than that.
Whilst the backroom was packed with everyone from casuals to those looking to get their pro certification via the official Q Tour, and lads in the front were practising their arrows, as co-owner Simon admitted they get almost just as many darts regulars these days, a storm was cooking up in the kitchen.
It would be unfair to say this place doubles as a bar and restaurant, because we really couldn’t get over how well put together this menu was.
‘Café 200’s food offerings involve classics like fried rice and chow mein dishes, to the kind of sides you could expect from your local Chinese chippy, but it’s even more authentic exports that really impress.
For instance, the beef ho fun seemed to be a big hit with everyone; we loved the salty seafood udon as well (a great chew on those noodles), and we know plenty of people still searching for proper Hong Kong-style French toast – they might just find it here.
Speaking of the special administrative region, which has a twisting and turning but nevertheless rich culinary culture all of its own, that last dish had us hopping with joy.
You’re looking at baked Portuguese rice: a Macau speciality rooted in the region’s colonial history.
We’ve never quite had anything like it before, even in all of our years eating this kind of cuisine around the 10 boroughs, but we haven’t stopped thinking about it since.
And then there’s everything else they do, from karaoke and bingo nights to catering for birthdays and other functions, or even just serving as a cool, somewhat tucked-away spot to watch the footy and other live sport come the weekend.
You can tell this place has built up a real community over the last 18 months or so, and while the food speaks for itself, it’s the sheer abundance and variety going on that makes it especially charming to so many.
Speaking of jack-of-all-trade venues, we stumbled across a similar multi-talented one over in Salford not so long ago, too…
‘Manc the Biff’: the Co-op Live crowd made the Clyro boys welcome on debut
Danny Jones
It feels like we’ve been waiting a long time to welcome Biffy Clyro back to Manchester, and they really didn’t disappoint on their Co-op Live debut.
Here’s our review of what was a proper rock show.
After a strong lineup of support acts with The Armed and Soft Play (formerly Slaves) injecting plenty of early energy into the crowds, already knew two things: the Scots wouldn’t disappoint, and a Manc crowd NEVER lets you down.
We knew everyone was on top form from the moment the Kilmarnock icons stepped out on stage under a swathe of blankets to the opener from their latest album, Futique.
Once the curtain was eventually lifted during ‘A Little Love’, which has quickly become one of the most popular singles for some time, you could see the sea of fans below start bouncing.
Rolling into the likes of ‘Hunting Season’ and Only Revolutions classic, ‘The Captain’, those bounces quite quickly turned into a healthy-sized pit, and those up in the stands with us finally got on their feet.
That was maybe our only complaint: we love seeing a seated section pretending they’re in standing from their start, but we get it and each to their own, of course.
In fact, the same goes for the rest of the session players joining them on the road this year.
One thing we weren’t expecting was quite how cool the production levels were going to be. We’ve never been Biffy fans for their creativity when it comes to toying with stage design or lighting rigs, but they threw in some fun effects regardless.
Highlights from the night included ‘Tiny Indoor Fireworks’, ‘Bubbles’, and ‘Black Chandelier’, though we were sad not to hear ‘Victory Over The Sun’, and it was especially gutting that one of our favourite tracks from the new record, ‘True Believer’, didn’t end up on the setlist.
Again, you can’t have anything – we’re just glad we got to be there and see a truly great British rock band proving that they are well and truly an arena-level band.
Lastly, even after all the years and an X-Factor cover trying its hardest to take the credit away from them, ‘Many of Horror’ is still an unbelievable rock ballad, and d’ya know who is an unbelievable rock band? “Biffy. F***ing. Clyroooooo.”
Daisy Jackson -
11th November 2021 
